Quick and Easy Palmier Recipe (aka Palmeras, Elephant Ear) Puff Pastry Cookie

If you need a quick and easy sweet to prepare this holiday season, try these palmiers (French for “Palm”). These cookies go by other names as well, such as: Palmeras in Spain, or elephant ears in the US. 

Just three ingredients: puff pastry, cinnamon and sugar. Delicious with tea or coffee....or dipped in chocolate!! Plus, you can make nearly two dozen from just one puff pastry sheet. 

Palmiers (aka Palmeras or Elephant Ears)

Puff pastry cookie.

1 Puff Pastry sheet, thawed (I recommend the one from Trader Joes)

1/2 c sugar

1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon (I recommend Penzeys Cinnamon)

Cookie sheet

Parchment or silicone cooking mat

Waxed paper

Rolling pin

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar mix on top of a large cutting board or marble countertop.  Unroll the thawed puff pastry and lay the puff pastry on top of the cinnamon sugar mix.  Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar mix on top of the puff pastry.  Using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry out to about a 12x14 rectangle gently pushing the sugar mix into the top and bottom of the pastry sheet.

Roll each long edge of the pastry sheet toward the center to make the elephant ear shapes. Make sure you roll the same number of rolls on both long edges of the pastry. Pinch the two edges together to prevent the log from unrolling.  Place the rolled cookie log in waxed paper and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  This will make cutting the cookies easier

Slice the log about every 1/2 inch and place the cookies on a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet. Place the cookies about 1.5 inches apart to allow the cookies to expand as they bake. Bake at 400 degrees for about 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn the cookies over and bake for another 7-8 minutes. The cookies are done when they are golden brown and the sugar-cinnamon should be bubbly and caramelized. 

Remove from oven. Let cool. Makes about two dozen cookies. Best if consumed within 2-3 days. Store in an airtight container.  (The dough can be frozen, but the baked cookies will loose their crisp exterior when frozen.  If you do freeze them, you may need to crisp them up again by reheating them in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes.)

I used a puff pastry from a Trader Joe’s.